


A Jealous Betrayal

by Utena



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Utena/pseuds/Utena
Summary: Believing that Kagome has been coerced into mating his hated elder brother, Inuyasha does the unthinkable - he forces Kagome to return to the future and destroys the Bone Eater's Well. Stuck in the future, Kagome must learn the fate of her mate while she fights for her way back to him. Will she succeed?
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome & Sesshoumaru, Higurashi Kagome/Sesshoumaru, InuYasha/Kikyou (InuYasha), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 154





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My Muse has decided that this one was another one that should be written. I have no idea where this one is going to go, but to humor her I will let the story flow. This one might be slow in updating because my muse is still trying to work out the kinks in this one. To be honest, she has ideas that would take it in so many directions. I am hoping for a decision from her. This one may or may not long but we shall see.

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter One**

There was a time when he had loved.

When he would have done anything to protect her.

Now all he wanted to do was save her from the fate he believed she should have not befallen.

He was going to save her even if she did not want it.

Inuyasha hid deep within the foliage of the Goshinboku. He had seen his brother’s two-headed dragon heading toward the village and knew that Kagome had come to visit Sango and Rin. Her visits had been frequent to the village of Edo, but Inuyasha always made himself scarce whenever she came. He still held a grudge against her for mating his brother prior to their battle against Naraku.

He really had not been expecting her to form any sort of relationship with his bastard half-brother nor had he cared for the fact that she had advocated the joint of their two packs into one. Sesshomaru had always hated humans and he had tried on numerous occasions to kill them just to gain access to the power of Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha did not trust him nor did he believe his brother had gained any compassion for humans. The idea of his brother’s pack and his own becoming one was not going to happen. He was the Alpha, not Sesshomaru.

And though Inuyasha had made this clear, he had been outnumbered when it came to the vote. It had been Kagome, who had come to Sesshomaru’s defense. In her opinion, Sesshomaru had proven himself to be one of the most powerful daiyoukais they had ever faced. Plus, Sesshomaru never sought the power of the Shikon no Tama. His joining of their group could be the catalyst that would bring about the downfall of Naraku.

Both Miroku and Sango had also seen the benefit to Sesshomaru’s pack assimilating with theirs and had agreed with Kagome.

Inuyasha had been furious and decided that since his hated half-brother was joining the pack, he would spend less time with them. Let them deal with Sesshomaru. He had better things to occupy himself with – namely Kikyo.

In truth, there had never been any indication that a relationship change had happened between his brother and Kagome. Certainly, he had seen no signs of it coming. He had paid close attention to their interactions between them but all he had seen was nothing short of respect.

Inuyasha had been at a loss. If there had been no signs, then exactly how had the relationship changed? He knew there had been no answers forthcoming his way. He had broken any chance of learning that especially after the way he had acted toward Kagome in the end.

He had been furious upon learning of her mating to his brother. To him, Kagome had become a traitor. Never mind, the fact that she had granted his heart’s wish – the revival of Kikyo. For him, her mating to his hated half-brother had been the last draw and he made it quite clear that her presence would never be welcomed in Edo.

He had watched with satisfaction the way the young Miko turned and walked away with her mate. Once she was gone, he would not listen to any of the swaying words from Sango or Miroku or even the newly resurrected Kikyo.

That was until he decided that he believed that Kagome had been brainwashed by his half-brother and had been coerced into the mating. He believed that by luring her back to Edo with the notion of reconciliation between them, he could save her, and she would be grateful for it.

For days, he worked upon a plan to save Kagome. He decided to turn to Kikyo and Sango for help. He wanted them to believe that he wanted to reconcile with Kagome and bring her back to Edo. He would not tell them his plan. No, they would simply try to dissuade him from his course of action. He did not want that, nor did he want them warning Kagome or Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha’s amber-colored eyes watched as the two-headed dragon, Ah-Un, landed in the clear field near the Bone Eater’s Well. He contemplated jumping down to greet her first, but he could hear the high squeals of delight coming from Sango and Rin, who had seen the arrival as well.

“Okaasan!” Rin cried out running over to the woman who had adopted her just months before her return to the village. She had been so happy and thrilled that she had a full family. She had missed them so much and now her adopted mother had come. The young woman threw her arms around Kagome and embraced her tightly. “I have missed you and father so much.”

Kagome could not help but smile as she too drew her arms around the young woman. She hated that her little family was scattered throughout Nippon. Her dear Shippo was training with other kitsunes and her dear daughter was here following in her footsteps to become a Miko. She had been so proud and yet so sad to not have them close to her.

“Hello, my dearest girl,” Kagome whispered softly.

“Kagome!” Sango and Kikyo called out happy to see the Lady of the Western Lands. They too embraced the woman warmly.

For Inuyasha, the scene was weird for him. He had not known that Kikyo and Sango had been in contact with Kagome until he had come to them for help. The two of them had told them they had been keeping correspondence with Kagome and the three of them had become friends. They had even gone to the Western Lands to visit when they had told him they had been checking on a slayer village.

Inuyasha had to admit it made him angry. He had not thought Kikyo, who had hated her reincarnate so much in the past, would be the first to try to make amends, but she had and it seemed that Kagome, with a heart wider than the depths of the ocean, had welcomed Kikyo into her fold of friends.

“Hello Sango, Kikyo,” Kagome returned warmly as she moved from the embrace of her adopted child and into theirs. “It is good to see you both.”

“We were hoping you would come,” Kikyo replied smiling.

It was then they saw the smile wane from Kagome’s face. She had been hesitant to come and had contemplated seeking her mate’s counsel upon this visit. She had already planned to come later in the year with her mate, but circumstances had changed upon the arrival of the scroll. She had not told Sesshomaru of the scroll nor that she had the intention of coming to hear Inuyasha out. She knew Sesshomaru would have been against it or he would have demanded to come. She could not allow him to, not when there was a threat of war coming from the East. She did not want to add to his already full plate with this. She would take this task on her own.

“Is something wrong, Kagome?” Sango inquired concerned for her dear friend.

Kagome shook her head. “Nothing. I am glad to be among friends. Now tell me what has been going on.” Then a small glance to Rin, “and how are your studies, my love?”

Inuyasha listened to the excited chatter of the women as they made their way toward the village of Edo.

It had been hours that she had spent in the company of Rin, Sango, and Kikyo. All of it spent in the home of Sango and Miroku. For Kagome, it had been wonderful to reconnect with the two women and even see her adopted child happily show off her improvements in herbs and her abilities. Rin had even presented Kagome with a concoction that would only be used on Sesshomaru should he become irritating.

“I tried it on Uncle Yasha,” she whispered, “and Aunt Kikyo said it made him more manageable.”

Kagome giggled. “This will definitely come in handy. Your father has been quite irritable lately.”

Before Rin could say anything further, Inuyasha entered the home and glanced over at the four women.

“Kagome,” Inuyasha greeted.

“Inuyasha,” she returned with uncertainty. She knew he wanted to speak with her, but she was not sure how to broach the subject.

“Would you come and walk with me?” Inuyasha asked as his amber gaze flickered to his mate and his friend’s wife.

“Sure, Yasha,” Kagome said rising from the floor and brushing the wrinkles from her kimono, “I will be back ladies.”

Kikyo and Sango, who had begun to prepare the evening meal, waved her off and continued their preparations. Rin, on the other hand, had seen this as her cue to return to Kaeda and see if there was anything needed before dinner. Briefly, the young woman watched her mother and uncle head in the direction toward where Ah-Un was possibly grazing still, but there was something that made Rin uneasy upon learning that her visit had been due to her uncle’s insistence. There was something that just was not right about the whole thing and worry spread into Rin’s soul.

Rin moved quickly to Kaeda’s home and told the older woman of her concerns. Kaeda contemplated Rin’s concerns. On one hand, the older woman wanted to believe that Inuyasha’s intentions to reconcile with his former best friend was a good thing, but much like Rin, she was concerned about the timing. To Kaeda, this entire thing should have disappeared before Kagome even left for the Western Lands. So why had Inuyasha pushed Kikyo and Sango to send the invitation for Kagome to come to the village.

“If Inuyasha is planning something,” Kaeda warned her young ward, “this entire village could be punished for his transgressions against Kagome.”

BOOM!

The sound drew everyone out of their homes and drew their attention toward the direction of the Bone Eater’s Well.

“What happened?” Kikyo cried out racing to her sister’s side. Her dark eyes turning toward where her sister and Rin’s were. “Oh no! Yasha, what have you done?”

Sango had made her way quickly down the path toward the Bone Eater’s Well. There, the image of what she found halted her in her path and caused her hand to clasp over her mouth in sheer horror. Inuyasha was standing in front of the rubble of the well with Tetsusaiga in his hands.

**The Western Lands** –

Clutching his chest in pain, Sesshomaru fell to his knees. It was a pain that felt as if his heart and soul had been ripped out of his body leaving behind an empty feeling of loss. He knew this pain could only come from his mate and though he tried to reach her through their link, he felt nothing there. She was gone.

Inside his mind, his beast raged and howled mournfully at the loss of his mate. The thin strand of hold breaking and sending the beast to the surface. Try as he might, Sesshomaru could not hold his beast back and within seconds, he was engulfed in light and out of the Shiro.

A mournful howl shook the ground as white paws touched the meadows surrounding the Shiro. Those who had heard the beast drew themselves back into the shadows knowing that it would only be moments before those mournful howls turned into something much, much worse.

* * *

**Chapter End**


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What are you?” He had inquired.
> 
> He could surmise that it had been the start of his inquiry into what she was but having watched her numerous times while he battled his brother, he still had been no closer to answering the question. His mate may have looked human, but she did not smell like one. Ever since their first meeting, he could never smell an ounce of decay upon her small frame. He had always wondered if that had been since she had once housed the Shikon no Tama in her body.
> 
> As he drew closer to his brother’s forest, his head lifted, and sniffed the air. There, he caught a small sniff of his mate’s scent. She had come here to Edo, but why? She had made no mention of it earlier that morning. There had been discussion a week prior that the two would make a visit to Edo to see Rin. So, what had brought her earlier?
> 
> Then it dawned on the inuyoukai as those red-colored hues narrowed in anger. Inuyasha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My muse was in the mood to write tonight. >> Please color me surprised because normally, she has an attitude when I want to do any sort of writing. I am going to chalk this up to the fact I am home for the rest of the week - not only because I am under quarantine but I am also down with a stupid cold.
> 
> I would like to take this moment to also thank Enigma and The Weeknd for their inspiration to help with this chapter. 
> 
> The next chapter probably won't be out for a while. I am going to try to finish up To Find You and get a chapter or two finished for Every Time I Love You. 
> 
> By the way, thank you all for your reviews. They inspire and motivate me. :D

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter Two**

Beneath the heavy white paws of the large inuyoukai dog, the ground shook and thundered under its weight. The most lethal inuyoukai was destroying everything within his path as he moved toward the direction of his brother’s forest. Whatever had caused that smoke and had to do something with his mate’s disappearance, and he was certain he would find the culprit to be none other than his own half-brother. He knew the half-breed had not been happy with the notion that the priestess had found someone else and mated. Sesshomaru had a strong belief that his half-brother believed that once they had destroyed Naraku, she would go back to her own time leaving Inuyasha free to mate Kikyo without an ounce of guilt.

But that was not how the narrative went. In fact, it went in a direction that his brother had not been able to fathom.

Still, Sesshomaru had not regretted his decision to mate the priestess. He would never admit – anyone or even himself – that both she and Rin were the reason he had changed his course in his life. He had already surpassed his own sire when his soul birthed the Bakusaiga and returned his severed arm to him during the battle against Magatsuhi. Sesshomaru saw no further reason to walk the path of Supreme Conquest. No, he had something else he wished to conqueror and that was the heart of the Miko that was part of his brother’s pack.

In truth, he could not remember where his fascination with her began. He wanted to believe that it came in the place of his sire’s tomb. While both he and Inuyasha had tried their hardest to pull Tetsusaiga from its place, it had been the human Miko who had managed to do the fete.

_“What are you?” He had inquired._

He could surmise that it had been the start of his inquiry into what she was but having watched her numerous times while he battled his brother, he still had been no closer to answering the question. His mate may have looked _human,_ but she did not smell like one. Ever since their first meeting, he could never smell an ounce of decay upon her small frame. He had always wondered if that had been since she had once housed the Shikon no Tama in her body.

As he drew closer to his brother’s forest, his head lifted, and sniffed the air. There, he caught a small sniff of his mate’s scent. She had come here to Edo, but why? She had made no mention of it earlier that morning. There had been discussion a week prior that the two would make a visit to Edo to see Rin. So, what had brought her earlier?

Then it dawned on the inuyoukai as those red-colored hues narrowed in anger. _Inuyasha_.

“Why ** _him_**?” Inuyasha wanted to know as he and Kagome made their way toward the open field by the Bone Eater’s Well.

Kagome sighed inwardly. She knew this question had been coming a mile away. It had not mattered that she had tried numerous times prior to explaining to the hanyou, but he would not listen to anything. She was not sure why she wanted to bother now to explain to him, but she supposed that this was the best chance to gaining some peace not only for herself but for her mate.

“I cannot really explain it, ‘Yasha,” she said honestly. “I don’t think either of us believed it would happen, but I suppose that the more we spent together, the more a spark appeared between us.” She paused to tape her chin in thought. “I was not going to continue to chase you nor was I going to continue to hold out any hope that you would look at me as you did Kikyo.”

“So, you turned to my brother?” He accused her narrowing his amber-colored hues down at the tiny Miko.

Kagome shook her head. “It was not like that,” she said too tired to argue with her former best friend. All she wanted from him was that he was happy for her, but she knew it would never come. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had far too much between them that would offer any sort of hope for reconciling. “Sesshomaru and I began to spend time together because he offered to train me. I am not like Kikyo, you made that assessment quite clear to me numerous times, and you always told me I was weak. I wanted to change that and Sesshomaru offered to help me.”

“I’m sure he helped you,” he snarked at her.

Kagome’s sapphire eyes narrowed at the implication of his words and her hand rose with just a touch of Miko's power as it moved across his face. “I did not whore myself out for help,” she snarled. “Your brother was a gentleman and he **never** demanded my body as payment! HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT!”

As far as Kagome was concerned, this conversation was over as was this entire meeting. She did not know what she had hoped to achieve from this. Perhaps, a small part of her had missed him as her best friend but now…. now all she wanted to do was return home to her mate and never come back here. She would send Sesshomaru in her steed to check on Rin’s progress.

“Where do you think you're going, Bitch!?” He growled matching her pace with his own and reached out to grab her by the upper arm and spinning her back around. “Why can’t you see that Sesshomaru mated you only because he felt sorry for you! You will never be more powerful than Kikyo!”

That…that really hurt. Kagome could feel the sting of his words lash at her very heart and soul. Part of her knew he was right. She would never be powerful like Kikyo, but she did not need to try either. Sesshomaru had always told her that although she was the undead priestess’s incarnate, it did not mean that she could grow into her own and she held onto those words from her mate. It had given her strength whenever Inuyasha decided to put her down.

“Tell Sango and Kikyo that I am sorry I could not stay,” she whispered forcefully removing her upper arm from his grip and heading toward the direction of the two-headed dragon.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Inuyasha was seeing red. He knew exactly where she was headed, and he had no intention of letting her return to the Ice Prince. Oh, she was going home all right. Right back to her original world.

He reached for her again and hauled her over his shoulder and headed in the direction of the Bone Eater’s Well. He could feel her tiny fists pounding on his back, but he would not back down. Once he reached the well, he tossed her in and watched her shocked face disappear the moment the blue light enveloped her falling form.

Seeing as Kagome was gone, Inuyasha stepped back and unsheathed Tetsusaiga.

“Bakuryuha!” Inuyasha called out sending a wave of power from Tetsusaiga and annihilating the well altogether.

“Inuyasha, what have you done!?” Sango gasped upon her arrival in the clearing. Smoke bellowed from the ruins of the well and Kagome was nowhere in sight. The realization hit her, and she knew that she and Kikyo had played right into Inuyasha’s hands.

“Mama!” Rin cried out the moment she arrived in the clearing. Her chocolate-colored eyes sweeping over the landscape for any sign of her adoptive mother but there was no sign of her anywhere. Her eyes tore away from the clearing and toward the destroyed well. “Uncle ‘Yasha, you didn’t –“

Rin was unable to finish her words. The evidence in front of her told the story. Her mother was gone and now she did not know how she was going to be able to face her adoptive father.

“Inuyasha, do you have any idea of what you have done?” Sango demanded finally managing to shake herself from her shock. “You took a youkai’s mate and tossed her down the well. Do you understand the implications of your actions?”

“Feh!” Inuyasha snorted. “She’s gone and the bastard can’t use her against us.”

“You don’t understand, Inuyasha,” Kikyo announced coming upon the scene and seeing the destruction. She was furious with her mate. He had used them to bring Kagome here and now they were on the brink of war now against a crazed daiyoukai, which was much worse than anything they had ever been up against. Even worse it would be Sesshomaru and Kikyo had seen her mate’s half-brother in action too many times to know that his aim was accurate against his enemies. “We are going to have to stop a crazed daiyoukai, you baka! You took his mate from him and possibly cut a mating link! Do you have any idea of what that does to a youkai much less a daiyoukai?” She held out her hand to stop him from opening his mouth. “Sesshomaru is going to be going on a rampage because the mating link will have felt like it was cut off and he will destroy everything and anyone in his path!”

“I can handle my half-brother,” Inuyasha heaved the transformed fang over his shoulder. “I have done it once and I can do it again!”

Sango shook her head. “Inuyasha, during those times, Sesshomaru-sama was not to injure you. He was training you. He never bothered to take your father’s fang if you remember correctly. He was training you to wield it properly. This time – this time you will not be so lucky to escape him. There is a reason why your brother was so feared by other youkai and daiyoukais.”

Inuyasha snorted and waved his hand. He did not fear Sesshomaru. He had bested his half-brother enough times to know that he was on equal ground when it came to clashing swords with him. If what they had said had been true, then his brother would have already appeared but there had been no sign of him anywhere. He believed he did Sesshomaru a favor – something he probably had been unable to do in the first place.

A howl in the distance caused all occupants in the clearing to freeze. The mournful howl causing their blood to grow cold. It had been a cry of heartbreak that each one could feel within the depths of their souls.

“Papa,” Rin whispered softly feeling the tears fall down her face. “Papa is coming. He is hurt.”

Both Sango and Kikyo glanced over at the girl. If it was Sesshomaru coming, then the fight was much earlier than anticipated. Neither woman had their weapons, having left them when they heard the explosion.

“Rin, you should head back to the village,” Sango stated looking over at the child.

Rin shook her head. “No, I can help calm Papa down. I know I can. Papa is just hurting and if we can reach him, we can calm him down.”

Kikyo was not sure if that would work, but she was willing to try anything to save the village.

**The Present –**

Kagome landed with a soft thud on the bottom of her shrine’s well. Her entire mind was in shock of what Inuyasha had done and even worse, try as she might, she could not return. She had been forcefully taken from her mate’s arms and flung back here to the future. Even worse, she never even had a chance to tell him that he was going to be a father.

Closing her eyes to halt her tears, Kagome remembered how she had gone to one of the Shiro’s healers. For the past several days, she had become ill in the mornings, often waving away breakfast before rushing to the nearest bucket to vomit. She had her suspicions that she was pregnant and wondered why Sesshomaru had not been able to detect it.

Opening her eyes again, she clawed at the moist stones. “Please,” she whispered heartbrokenly, “please let me return.”

And the well refused her request.

* * *

**Chapter End.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He took me from my mate, Momma,” she cried softly placing the cup back down on the table as her tears fell again. “Inuyasha took me from my mate before I even had a chance to tell him he was going to be a father.” She reached out to take a hold of her mother’s hand. “I tried, Momma, even to see if I could feel him in this time and I feel nothing.”
> 
> “My baby,” she whispered drawing Kagome once more into her arms and held her.
> 
> Sota, who had been standing in the doorway, could only frown. He had always worshipped Inuyasha ever since he had first met him all those years ago and now…now S¯ota was furious at the hanyou for what he had done to his sister. He may not know the entire story, but he was willing to bet that the hanyou had been jealous of Kagome finding love with someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having a bit of an issue with liking this one. A part of me does not seem happy with the way this chapter has been written. I may come back to this chapter and either A) rewrite the whole thing or B) leave it as it is. It will depend on what my final thoughts will be on this.
> 
> Chapters for this series may come out slowly. I return to work on Monday plus I am trying to wrap up To Find You Again before I focus upon this story and Every Time I Love You.
> 
> By the way, if anyone is interested in bouncing ideas with me on this story, please feel free to message me or inquire about my email address. :D

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter Three**

**The Present-**

Kagome grasped the ladder and made her way up the well. She had spent a good portion of an hour trying everything in her power to return to the past and nothing seemed to be working. Even her abilities as a Miko had failed to help her. Now here she was climbing up the ladder in despair and pain. The mating mark on her shoulder had burned hotly on her shoulder had been most troublesome since her return to the present. It had ached and burned like red-hot coals pressed against her skin. Most of all, the mark had unseeingly torn at her soul as it searched for its other half.

Upon reaching the lip of the family well, Kagome sat on the edge and used her reiki to try to find any sign of youkai in the vicinity, but as far-reaching as her reiki made, she could feel nothing returned. A sob tore from her throat as she realized that there was a possibility that her mate was probably dead.

“Who’s there?” A voice called out.

Kagome’s sob quieted as she leaped forward from the lip of the well and threw open the faded wooden doors. There before her was her mother and brother. Both were wearing surprised looks upon their faces upon seeing her.

“Kagome?” Sota was the first to shake himself from the shock of seeing his sister. It had been months since he had last seen her, and he had thought it would have been the last. But nowhere she was before them looking disheveled and looking as if her world had come crashing down all around her.

“Kagome?” Her mother echoed as she reached for her only daughter. She could see that Kagome was on the verge of a full-fledge sob and the older woman moved to wrap around her child’s body. “Let it go, my dearest girl.”

And Kagome did, sobbing loudly and calling for her mate. Kagome’s mother could feel the heartbreak in her daughter’s sobs, and she could only wonder what had happened to cause such grief to happen. With soft, whispering words of comfort to Kagome, her mother maneuvered her daughter into the shrine and toward one of the couch seats.

Once she had her seated, her mother went about making a small kettle of tea. Kagome’s sobs were soft and heart-wrenching. There was so much pain that it had broken her mother’s own heart to see her daughter in such a way. A slight frown marred her face. She briefly wondered if Inuyasha had been the one behind her daughter’s pain. She knew that the hanyou and Kagome were having problems just a few short months ago. Kagome had not elaborated on it, but she had mentioned that it had to do with Kagome’s current relationship with his older half-brother.

As the kettle whistled, the older woman snapped out of her thoughts and started gathering everything together to place upon a tray. She picked up the tray and moved to sit next to her daughter.

“What happened, my dearest girl?” Her mother prodded gently. She poured two cups of tea and handed one of them to Kagome.

Using the sleeve of her ruined kimono, Kagome wiped the tears from her face and looked over at the worried face of her mother.

“Inuyasha threw me into the well,” she whispered taking the cup from her mother’s extended hand. “He was so angry, Momma, that I had chosen his older brother as my significant other. We exchanged harsh words between us, and he accused me of being a whore.” Her eyes were watering again in hurt. “I tried to walk away from him, but he would not let it go. He grabbed me, Momma, and threw me down into the well.”

Kagome’s mother took in her daughter’s words. She reached out to touch her daughter’s head, brushing back strands of raven-colored hair from her face.

“He took me from my mate, Momma,” she cried softly placing the cup back down on the table as her tears fell again. “Inuyasha took me from my mate before I even had a chance to tell him he was going to be a father.” She reached out to take a hold of her mother’s hand. “I tried, Momma, even to see if I could feel him in this time and I feel nothing.”

“My baby,” she whispered drawing Kagome once more into her arms and held her.

Sota, who had been standing in the doorway, could only frown. He had always worshipped Inuyasha ever since he had first met him all those years ago and now…now Sta was furious at the hanyou for what he had done to his sister. He may not know the entire story, but he was willing to bet that the hanyou had been jealous of Kagome finding love with someone else.

“Mom?” the young man voiced unsure of how to help his sister.

His mother glanced up at him. “Get the water ready for your sister. I think a nice, relaxing bath will soothe those tired muscles and then…. then we can decide where to go from there. Is that okay, Kagome?”

The young woman nodded numbly.

Sota saw that as his cue and ran up the stairs to start the water for his sister. He hoped that once she was freshly cleaned that they would learn more of what happened. He would not push it but he knew eventually the entire thing would come out….

Sooner or later.

**The Village of Edo**

**The Past –**

They heard him before they had even seen him. All of those standing near the ruined Bone Eater’s Well knew very well whom it was coming their way and from the thunderous sounds, the demon lord was on a murderous rampage.

Sango and Kikyo moved quickly to reach Rin and get her to safety. As it was, both had no weapons to protect themselves from Sesshomaru, but it would not matter anyhow especially with how enraged he had to be.

Rin, on the other hand, was struggling against the women. If there was one thing she could do, she would place herself before her adopted parent to try to stop him. She knew he was hurting. She could feel it in the yoki he was projecting, and it was breaking every bit of her young heart.

“Let me go,” she whispered harshly to the two women. She knew they were trying to protect her, but she needed to reach her father before he did something he would regret.

Kikyo opened her mouth to speak but a cry of “Bakusaiga!” halted her movements as a wave of green-gold energy surged through the clearing and right toward the direction of where Inuyasha stood. She watched in horror as her mate, still ignorant of what he had caused, moved Tetsusaiga in front of him in just in time to call forth “Bakuryha!” in order to counter the attack, but it had not been enough to save himself. The powerful force from Bakusaiga sent the hanyo flying into the nearest set of trees.

“Inuyasha!” Kikyo cried out in fear but she was halted any progress from Sango, who could only shake her head to deter her from moving.

“If you go out there,” Sango quietly warned glancing in the direction where Sesshmaru’s attack had come from, “he may see you not only as a threat but a co-conspirator that took away his beloved mate. He is too far in his rage to listen to any reason right now.”

“But Inuyasha could be hurt!” Kikyo spoke worriedly as she glanced once more toward where her mate had fallen.

“Listen to me,” Sango replied urgently, “right now Sesshmaru-sama will not listen to any reason. He is in a blood rage from losing his mate. I can only fathom that the moment Inuyasha tossed Kagome into the well and it returned her to the future, the mating link cut off any connection causing Sesshmaru to believe his mate is dead.” She glanced down at Rin, who was watching for her adopted father to appear in the clearing. “There is nothing we can do. Inuyasha brought this upon himself. If he had not been so selfish in his beliefs that Kagome was his too, then this situation would have never sprung forth.”

Rin was about to add to the conversation, but the appearance of her father figure coming out from the tree line just as her Uncle was rising from the ground.

“Sesshomaru,” Inuyasha snarled his brother’s name as if it were some curse. Once more, he placed Tetsusaiga before him ready to fight his brother.

“You took something from me, _little brother_ ,” his older brother’s baritone voice was soft but underneath there was an underlining current of rage. His red-hued eyes looked over at the figure of his brother’s mate and a dark smile found its way upon the lips of the daiyokai. For those who bore witness to it knew that the demon lord had come to exact revenge for his loss and who was to say he would not invoke demon laws. “I believe your death would suffice for my loss.”

“I’d like to see you try to kill me, Asshole,” Inuyasha growled setting Tetsusaiga into attack mode as he headed toward his brother.

From the sidelines, they could only watch in horror as the two brothers clashed swords time and time again and from the looks of this battle, the elder brother was out for blood – and more importantly the hanyo’s. Both older women knew they could not step in, but the youngest was looking for that opening. She could not watch this continue. She did not want her adopted father to kill her uncle. She knew that such would solve not a thing especially when it came to returning her mother back to this world. She glanced up at the women, taking in the fact their attention was still diverted to the fighting and then once more toward the battlefield – and she saw her moment appear: her father had just rammed his entire toxic clawed hand through her uncle’s gut.

“No!” Rin cried out racing toward Sesshomaru and putting her arms around his middle. “Please, Papa, don’t kill him! I know he hurt Momma, but she would not want this! Please!”

Sesshomaru froze. His red-hued eyes returning to their golden color as his hand withdrew from his brother’s body. He could hear the pain in his daughter’s words and knew that even though she had possibly bore witness to his brother’s deceit, she had been right – Kagome would not be happy if Inuyasha was dead. The Bakusaiga dropped from his hand as his head lowered allowing his long silver hair to curtain the pained expression from those still watching the battle. In that single moment, he could hear Rin’s soft sobs vibrate against his back. His daughter was hurting, but so was he. Her tears echoed the pain that was constricting around his heart from his own loss.

“Rin,” he spoke softly.

“Papa?” She sniffled lifting her head to look up at him.

“Prepare Ah-Un,” he told her, “to leave. We return to the West.”

“Aye,” she replied and let go of him to run off.

Sesshomaru reached for his sword and straightened himself, glaring down at his brother as he did so.

“You were saved by my daughter, consider yourself lucky,” Sesshomaru warned his half-brother, “but know this: if I find you on my lands, I will kill you.”

And with those words, the demon lord turned and walked away in the direction that he knew Rin had taken. He did not even bother to speak to the two women he passed. As far as he was concerned, they were just as much at fault as the hanyo. None of them were going to be allowed to set foot upon the Western Lands or they would forfeit their lives.

“We are ready, Papa,” Rin stated upon return. In her hand, she held the leash of the two-headed dragon.

“We return home,” he said and headed toward the tree line that would guide them back to the Western Lands.

Once the Lord of the West had departed, Kikyo was the first to move from her spot and she ran over to where her mate laid with a giant hole in his stomach. She wrinkled her nose from the smell of the toxic that still burning through around the corners of the hole. Ripping the shoulder sleeve of her Miko uniform, she went about to clean up any of the toxic poison she could.

“Inuyasha,” she whispered softly. There was a tone of disappointment lacing her words and aura, “you are lucky he did not kill you. You owe Rin your life because she saved you from a fate that your brother already had planned for you.”

Sango knelt beside the Miko and was doing her best to help her friend. “Let me go see if Miroku and Kirara have returned so we can carry him to Kaede’s hut.”

Sango rose to her feet and moved quickly once more toward the village. Kiky watched her friend depart and turned once more to her mate. As she went back to cleaning the gaping wound, she could not help but be in awe of how Rin had the ability to bring Sesshmaru back to the present. She knew he had come to kill his brother and she was certain he would have done so without thought.

A sigh from her lips, there was too much to contemplate and once Inuyasha had recovered, they would talk about this.

* * *

**Chapter End**


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souta knew his grandfather was right; he needed to be strong for his sister. Still, he hated Inuyasha for what he did to her. Kagome did not deserve being torn from her mate and back into a world that seemed to hold no youkai. He knew his sister had used her reiki several times since her return to try to find a viable signal for other youkai but there seemed to never be any answer returned. Yet, he could not help but wonder if that with her reiki being sent out if the youkai simply held back their answer. After all, his sister was a Miko and they were not quite friendly with youkai. Was that the reason?
> 
> Souta believed it could be plausible and he wondered if the child she carried had yet to manifest its own yet. Perhaps, in the coming weeks, it may? Souta contemplated this and perhaps if the child’s own yoki or reiki reached out to those that could possibly be living that there would be any reply returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really was not expecting this to be out so soon, but my Muse was not going to let me out of it until it was written. Right now, I am trying to decide which direction this may go. There are many possibilities with it and it can go any way my Muse decides. So, this could end up with a happy ending or a very bitter end. It will depend on what mood my Muse will swing in when she comes when she starts the next chapter.
> 
> For right now, chapters may come out slowly as I am trying to finish up To Find You Again and start-up Every Time I Love You. So, please be patient.

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter Four**

**The Present-**

For the first week since her forced return to the future, Souta would find his sister sitting at the bottom of the well. Her fingers torn and bloodied as she tried desperately to claw her back to her mate. It broke his heart to see his sister in such a state and he could not fathom why Inuyasha would think to do this to her especially when he had made it clear on so many occasions that his heart had always belonged to Kikyo.

“Come on, Sis,” he whispered softly tugging on her arm and getting her to move from the dirty ground of the well. “Climb up the ladder and let’s get you back inside.”

Kagome would always never reply but she would just nod her head and climb up the ladder where she would be met by both her mother and grandfather. The two of them would often share sympathetic glances with each other before hoisting the young woman over the well.

“Come, dear,” her mother cooed softly leading her away from the well and back into the shrine, “let’s clean you up and decide our next move.”

Kagome nodded numbly and followed her mother inside leaving her grandfather and brother to watch them disappear inside.

“Inuyasha,” Souta began visibly angry at the hanyou for making his sister in such a state, “what he did was wrong.”

His grandfather sighed, “Indeed he did. I am not sure what led to forcing her return like this, but I can only speculate that he did not like the fact that your sister had mated his eldest brother.”

“Whether he did or did not, it was not his to decide,” Souta growled angrily. His hands clutching into fists at his side. At this moment, he wished Inuyasha would appear just so he could punch the hanyou in the face.

“Regardless, my dear boy,” his grandfather soothed softly placing a hand upon the young man’s tense shoulder, “we need to think of your sister and help her coup with not only being with child but with the possibility that her mate may not be here in the future.”

Souta knew his grandfather was right; he needed to be strong for his sister. Still, he hated Inuyasha for what he did to her. Kagome did not deserve being torn from her mate and back into a world that seemed to hold no youkai. He knew his sister had used her reiki several times since her return to try to find a viable signal for other youkai but there seemed to never be any answer returned. Yet, he could not help but wonder if that with her reiki being sent out if the youkai simply held back their answer. After all, his sister was a Miko and they were not quite friendly with youkai. Was that the reason?

Souta believed it could be plausible and he wondered if the child she carried had yet to manifest its own yet. Perhaps, in the coming weeks, it may? Souta contemplated this and perhaps if the child’s own yoki or reiki reached out to those that could possibly be living that there would be any reply returned.

“Grandpa, do you think if Kagome’s child were to send out its own reiki or yoki pulse, do you think others might respond?” Souta inquired turning his head to look at the elder Higurashi.

Grandpa tapped his chin in thought. The idea was interesting, and it could possibly open the doors Kagome needed to find Sesshomaru but with the child in the earliest of stages of beginning, he was not sure now. Plus, he had no idea what kind of power Kagome’s own child could have and its strength. He knew from Kagome that Sesshomaru was one of the most powerful inuyoukai that ever walked the Earth. It could be a possibility that a child between a powerful Miko and a powerful youkai could tap into both powers or it could simply be birthed as a human. He had heard stories long ago where Miko and youkai couplings often birthed human progeny.

But what would Kagome birth? She was powerful in her own right and if anything, she had the ability to match her own mate in power. So, where would her child stand in both worlds? He knew Inuyasha was looked down upon due to being hanyou, but would the youkai world do the same to Kagome’s child?

He highly doubted that especially when the father of the child was Sesshomaru, demon lord of the west.

“That is a rather interesting question, you have there, Souta,” Grandpa finally answered, “but we won’t know until the coming months. The little one, if there is any power within it, is either too small at this point or it is hiding its power from the world around it. The latter could be a large possibility as we don’t know how long your sister will carry her child and we will have to wait until it decides to give us a small taste.”

Mama Higurashi opened the bedroom door to find her daughter freshly cleaned and sitting on the edge of her bed, her head down allowing her raven-colored hair to fall forward in a curtain. She knew her daughter had been crying and she knew it was going to be a long road for Kagome especially now with Sesshomaru absent from the picture, but she was not going to let her daughter wallow in tears. No, she was going to get Kagome to see that her child would need her to be strong especially if she wanted to welcome her child into this world.

“Kagome,” her mother began coming into the room, closing the door quietly behind her, and settling herself next to her, “I know it hurts, my dear girl, that you are away from your mate. I may not know what it is like to have a mating mark or what sort of turmoil it has offered you since you were forcefully torn from his side, but you need to look at the other side of the picture. You are pregnant and staying closed and wallowing in such grief will do more harm than good. You are going to be a mother, dear girl, you need to start thinking about the baby.”

Lifting her head and looking at her mother, Kagome moved her hand to lay upon her lower stomach where she could feel her child thriving inside of her. Her mother was right, and she needed to start thinking of her baby.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something but a knock-on her door sent the words to die upon her lips. Instead, she called out, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal both her brother and her grandfather in the doorway.

“Can we join this conversation?” Her grandfather inquired.

Kagome nodded her head. “Yes, of course.”

The two came in. Her grandfather grabbed the chair from the corner and moved it to sit closer to both his granddaughter and daughter.

“I believe your brother brought up something I think we should discuss with you,” her grandfather began once they all settled together in a circle.

“I did?” Souta questioned curiously.

“Yes, you did,” his grandfather nodded his head. “You brought up an interesting thought and I think this would be the best thing we could offer Kagome in terms of hope.”

Kagome’s blue eyes turned toward her brother, who seemed to be contemplating the conversation he had had previously outside. His own blue eyes widening at the realization that his grandfather had been considering the possibility of his words.

“Kagome, what if the reason that you are not receiving a reply from youkai is that your reiki is holy,” Souta began nervously. “You said that youkai avoid Miko in the Sengoku period because Miko and youkai are enemies. So, what if they are continuously trying to stay low every time you send out a pulse of reiki?”

Kagome seemed to be considering this. “That could be possible,” she answered after a minute had passed, “but why hasn’t Sesshomaru answered back?”

It was her grandfather that answered, “From the way you have said about him, it could be possible that other youkai in the area or in his circle could be keeping his yoki hidden and even that of another from finding him.”

“Then, how am I going to find him or reach him?” She asked feeling the tears gather once more in her eyes. Quickly, she brushed them away remembering her mother’s words about her baby.

“What if your baby could?” Souta questioned.

“My baby?”

Her grandfather cited, “Yes, your baby. Your baby may be the one who could lead you back to Sesshomaru through his or her own power. If your child could give a pulse of its own reiki or yoki, it may be answered back seeing as it will have half of its other parent’s potential power.”

Kagome took in everything her brother and grandfather offered in the ways of hope. Could they be right? Could her baby be the key to returning to her mate’s side?

Kagome knew that it was a possibility, but she would have to wait until her child was in the right stages for any display of power.

But when would that be?

**The Past –**

Inuyasha wiped his brow and swung Tetsusaiga over his shoulder, glancing at his handiwork that littered the grounds around him. The troll youkai had been dispersed saving the nearby village. He glanced over Miroku and Sango, both of who were wiping their clothes of youkai guts and gore.

“Feh,” he snorted and turned away from them, He moved toward where his mate was standing, holding something up in her hand as she studied it. Briefly, it looked like a piece of the Shikon no Tama, but the thing had been completed months ago and Kagome had made a wish on it. So, whatever this was could be something entirely different. Perhaps, even a fake replica that made the youkai they destroyed believe that it held power to it.

”Any idea what it is?” Inuyasha asked lifting his gold eyes to the piece.

Kikyo shook her head. “It holds no power. At least, none that I could feel so I am unable to offer any purification upon the piece.”

Inuyasha snorted. “It seemed that our friend may have believed otherwise.”

Kikyo nodded in agreement. “That may be the possibility.”

“So, someone is offering fake pieces of the Shikon no Tama?” Sango asked in disbelief. She could not understand why humans or youkai would believe that the jewel was even still around.

Kikyo shook her head.

“We should return to Edo,” Miroku remarked.

The inu-tachi were set to move in the direction of their village but the movement off to the side halted them in their tracks. In a matter of moments, there were surrounded by the most elite youkai guards they had ever seen.

“Inuyasha, son of the Great and Terrible Inu no Taisho, Toga,” the commander of the elite set of youkai spoke as the other youkai held their blades to the group, “you are hereby under arrest and will be held for trial before the Cardinal Four.”

“Feh,” Inuyasha replied lowering the Tetsusaiga and smirking at them, “I would like to see you try to take me.”

“Inuyasha!” Kikyo cried out as one of the guards took hold of her and held the blade close to her throat.

“I suggest you lower your weapon, Son of Inu no Taisho,” the commander sneered to the hanyou, “or you may find your mate once more belonging to the Underworld.”

Inuyasha growled and lowered his blade. He wielded it to transform once more into the rusted blade and returned it to its scabbard.

Sango spoke up, “What is Inuyasha being taken for?”

The commander turned his green eyes toward the demon slayer and replied, “All of you are under arrest for the conspiracy against the Demon Lord, Sesshomaru, of the West and in purposely removing his mate.”

“But we had nothing to do with that!” Sango argued reaching for Hiraikotsu but when her movement sent the elite youkai guard on alert, she lowered her hand again.

“It will be up to the Cardinal Four whether you are part of the conspiracy or not,” the youkai commander stated.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku glared at the hanyou for placing them all in this mess, “I always knew that your jealousy and need to believe that your brother held an ulterior motive when he mated Kagome would brew trouble one way or another.”

It was Sango’s turn to add sharply, “If we get out of this **_alive_** , I will make you wish you were _**never born**_.”

* * *

**Chapter End**


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the large wooden doors opened, the group found themselves in awe of the beautiful Moon-jo. Made of wood and concrete and built upon a massive hill, the Shiro had been built with elegance and comfort in mind for the ruler that would live within, but the group knew otherwise. Its heavy shadow loomed over the village below offering a word of warning to those who dared to cause all trouble: the ruler of the Shiro was watching and justice would be swift and without warning.
> 
> This occasion was no different as they made their way to the middle of the courtyard. There, standing before them were three youkais of power dressed in colors of blue, red, and green. The fourth seemed to be missing causing the group to glance at each other in concern and warily turn their attentions once more upon the three youkais.
> 
> “Inuyasha, son of the late and great Inu no Taisho, you are hereby charged with interference in the mating of your older brother, the great Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, and his mate, Kagome, the Shikon no Miko,” the youkai in blue proclaimed as his blue eyes swept across the group. “You and your group will stand before the Cardinal Court and face judgment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been out a bit sooner but my new laptop went out two weeks ago. I had to search for my older laptop and had to try to remember my password for OneDrive. Thankfully, I was able to get all my writing back from it so I could work on these stories while I have a week off. 
> 
> I have two ways this story could go and I am trying to figure out which direction would be best. This means the next chapter might be a long way off for a while. >> That and my muse has other storyline ideas for other writing projects. Plus I really am hoping to finish up To Find You Again. 
> 
> So please enjoy and have a great holiday season!

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter Five**

**The Past-**

It had taken them four days to reach the core of the Western Lands. Just a half an hour away from Sesshomaru’s palace, they were placed in an old prison just outside a large village. The head of the guards had told them that this place was meant to house political prisoners of the Court and seeing how Inuyasha was considered one for the moment, this was where they would be placed until the Court was prepared to hear their side of the matter.

“I would not try to escape either,” the head of the guard cautioned glancing at the group in contempt, “We have been given the orders that should you try, we have permission to kill you upon capture.”

None of them saw a point in even trying anyway. They knew that the Cardinal Lords had placed the prison with enough guards to make it the most secure and most unable to escape prison. Whatever was planned for them…well, they would have to wait for the moment.

“Sango,” Kikyo spoke the slayer’s name causing the other woman to look up at her, “do you know anything of youkai courts?”

Sango sighed as she slid down the wall and plunked down on the floor. “Very little,” she replied honestly, “Slayers are taught combat and how to kill youkai, but my father did say that youkai court is much different from the human court.”

There was a small pause between the four of them before Miroku broke in with, “The Court is administered by the four Cardinal Lords of the Lands – North, South, East, and West. The more powerful of the youkai lords would be the head judge. It is said that there is a discussion between the four Cardinal Lords, and I can only assume that it would Inuyasha’s older brother, Sesshomaru. He is one of the most powerful youkai lords. So, his rule would be the final say.”

“Be that it may be Sesshomaru, how would we even get him to listen to our side?” Kikyo inquired finding every bit of this possibly useless for their side. All of them knew that any pleading would befall upon deafened ears. Sesshomaru had every right to be angry enough to drag them here and place them before the youkai courts. But the thing that bothered Kikyo was the fact that prior to departure, they had seen Sesshomaru so despondent.

Kikyo’s eyes widened at the memory and her head snapped once more toward Miroku and Sango. “Wait, wasn’t Sesshomaru despondent when he left?”

Miroku and Sango took in her words allowing it a moment to sink into their minds. Both nodded their heads in agreement.

“Feh!” Inuyasha snorted, earning a glare from the other three occupants in the same room. “That bastard probably wanted us to believe that he was despondent from the loss of K’gome.”

Sango’s gaze narrowed at the hanyou and she hissed, “If you had not tossed Kagome down the well, we would not be in this mess.”

“I keep tellin’ ya that S’sshomaru was just usin’ Kagome for the sword,” Inuyasha returned.

“I don’t believe that,” Kikyo disagreed with her mate. “She loved him, Inuyasha. She was happy and glowing. You did not see what both me, Rin, and Sango saw.”

Inuyasha snorted in disbelief still refusing to believe that his hated older half-brother had any warm feelings toward Kagome.

“Sesshomaru gave up on trying to take Tessaiga from you,” Sango bit out. At her side, her hands clenched into fists. If it were not for Kikyo, she would have rose to her feet and punched the living hell out of the hanyou. “Your continued need to live in your delusionary world has brought this upon our heads.”

Inuyasha wisely did not say anything. Instead, he went back to sulking and listening to the conversation they were having without him. He did not understand why any of them would think to believe that Kagome and his brother had any sort of romantic tendencies between them. He knew his brother way better than any of them and he was certain that once they stood before the Cardinal Lords, they too would see that Sesshomaru would demand Tessaiga for his pain.

Miroku placed a comforting hand on Sango and shook his head, telling her that there was no need to further any conversation with Inuyasha. He steered the conversation again once more to the fact that Sesshomaru’s departure from Edo and to the youkai lord’s state of mind. He had not been there, so he had no idea what exactly had transpired. He could only surmise a guess that Sesshomaru had literally come for blood. Yet, Miroku could not help but wonder about the mating bond held between Kagome and Sesshomaru. From the conversations prior to the mess they were currently in, Sango had told him that Sesshomaru seemed to going insane. He had heard things about the mating bond during his travels but most of them had never been a good indication when a bonded pair were torn from each other. There had been tales of youkai going insane and going on killing sprees, but what about Sesshomaru? The young lord was a daiyoukai and thus far more dangerous than the youkais they had faced in battle.

“What about the mating bond?” He questioned out loud causing the two women to halt their conversation and turn to him.

Both girls looked at each other unsure of how even to answer it. Neither of them had ever thought about the bond since they had last seen Sesshomaru being escorted away from them. They had believed that the youkai lord had probably been in complete control of it, but now – now they did not know. Rin had never returned to the village to give any update on the state of her adopted father. Both women had written it off as Rin had taken over Kagome’s role as the Western Lady until a solution to returning Kagome back home.

“I don’t know,” Sango said honestly lifting her eyes to look at her lover. “I have never seen a mating bond broken nor have I ever encountered a youkai whose mate had been taken from them.”

“Until they come for us, we won’t know,” Kikyo added moving to sit next to Inuyasha. She may be angry at her mate, but she still loved him, and she would stand by him in whatever fate was handed to them.

**The Present –**

Higurashi Souta leaned against the wall and placed his school bag down next to him. He glanced over at his friends, who were still gawking at his sister as she walked away and headed once more toward home. He had been trying to get his sister out of the house for weeks since her return home and she would simply shake her head no, but he had finally managed to coax her out especially since he had given her some hope on the horizon.

“When did your sister get so hot?” Hotaru remarked watching his friend’s older sister head back toward the direction of the shrine. It had been quite some time that any of them had seen the older girl. He had heard rumors of her illnesses and that she had been sent to a hospital far away to be taken care of, but now Hotaru could not help but wonder if any of those rumors were true. The girl did not look sick nor did she look to have been sick in the first place.

“Be thankful that my brother-in-law is not here to hear that,” Souta warned picking up his bag and heading toward the doors of the school.

“She’s married?” Miki inquired surprised by the news.

“Yeah,” Souta said, “she’s been married for nearly a year now. Her husband is a businessman.”

It was enough information he was willing to give his friends. He very well could not tell any of them that his sister’s husband was youkai or anything like that. Besides, it really was none of their business. He felt the need to protect her but at the same time, he was still looking for a solution to help. But how? Youkai had clearly hidden if there were any still alive.

“Hey, have you gone to see Yoshida-sensei for that test you have to make up?” Hotaru asked glancing at his watch. They still had about twenty minutes before the school bell would ring.

“Damn,” Souta muttered having forgotten he was supposed to go see his history teacher. “I should go do that now. I will see you guys during lunch.”

Souta did not give his two friends a chance to reply as he moved quickly to throw open the heavy front doors and head toward his history class. As he caught sight of the classroom, Souta’s quick steps slowed down. He could only hope that Yoshida-sensei would be understanding. He could explain that his sister had unexpectedly come home and thrown their home in chaos. It was not entirely a lie.

As he reached the door, he could hear Yoshida-sensei talking to someone. He was about to raise his hand to knock but something halted him from doing so and instead he listened.

“That reiki flare several nights ago was a cause for concern, Kaoru,” the female voice announced softly. “The Cardinal Lords have grown concerned that there is rogue Miko on the loose especially when we have made sure that youkai have remained compliant and assimilated into the human world.”

“That would be quite a cause for concern,” Yoshida-sensei agreed, “but there was something about that reiki flare.”

There was a pause as if the woman seemed to be contemplating something. “Oh?”

Yoshida-sensei nodded. “It seemed to be searching for something.”

“You think so?” the woman asked.

 _Youkai_! Souta’s eyes widened at the realization that he decided to interrupt their conversation by throwing the door open wide and entering the room. He had found two! What luck!

“Higurashi!” Yoshida-sensei acknowledged in surprise. Briefly, he wondered how much of the conversation the boy had heard.

“That reiki you felt came from my sister,” he announced looking at both with the hope that they would be able to help his sister.

“Your sister?” the woman asked brushing back the stray strands of blond from her face. Her citrine eyes watching the boy curiously.

Souta nodded. “Kagome, she was trying to find youkai –“

“Why would she be trying to find youkai?” Yoshida-sensei asked nervously watching his companion closely.

“My sister came from the past,” Souta began trying to find the best way to explain the situation to them. “Inuyasha threw her through the well and she tried to get back –“

“Your sister. Inuyasha, “the woman cut the boy off and moved away from his teacher’s side to stand before him. Her citrine eyes narrowed.

“Kimi-sama,” Yoshida-sensei began hoping to regain her attention and give the boy space and a chance to explain, “perhaps if you would allow me to call the office on the boy’s behalf to excuse him from his classes, we could possibly discuss this matter privately with him.”

It was enough to cause the woman, Kimi, to draw back away from Souta and nod. “Do what you must, Karou.”

Yoshida-sensei – no, _Karou_ – nodded his head and proceeded to dial-up to the school office. He could not hear the conversation but Karou made it seem important that Souta be excused from all his classes. He could not believe that whatever he said seemed to be enough as the older man hung up.

“It has been done, Kimi-sama,” Karou replied and placed his cell phone back down on his desk. He moved past them and closed the classroom door and ushered them both into the room next door.

Once they were all comfortable, it was the woman who once more spoke again, “Explain now, human, what you mean.”

Karou raised a hand to halt Souta from speaking. “First allow us to introduce ourselves properly. I am Karou, the Cardinal Lord of South, and this is InuKimi-sama, the dowager Lady of the West.”

Souta’s eyes went to the woman. “Then, you must be Sesshomaru’s mother?”

Kimi dropped the glamour and allowed the boy to gaze upon her true humanoid form. Her once long blond hair turned white. There were two tiny lightning bolt-like markings just below her eyes and on the center of her forehead was the crescent moon, a symbol he learned that of the Inu clan.

“This One is,” she said with a smile. “Now tell this One, boy, how you know of my son.”

“My sister, Kagome, is his mate,” the young boy answered. “Her reiki flare was meant to try to find him. She was hoping that she would find any youkai within the area who could help her find a way back to him.”

InuKimi pressed her lips together and glanced over at Karou. She was not sure exactly how to explain to the boy why her son had not responded to the call of his mate’s reiki.

“Well, my boy,” Karou replied, “I think we should take this talk to your home. I think that this should be heard from your sister.”

Souta chewed on his bottom lip and looked at two of them. “Please if anything has happened to Sesshomaru, you need to make it as delicately as possible. My sister is not in the best state of mind and we don’t want anything to happen to her or the baby.”

“Baby?” Surprise clearly written upon both faces of the Southern Lord and InuKimi’s face. This was not what they had expected to hear.

“Did Sesshomaru know before Kagome was taken from his side?” Karou asked.

Souta shook his head. “She had planned on surprising him when she returned from visiting.”

“This complicates matters,” was all InuKimi would offer upon the situation.

**The Past –**

It had been three days since their arrival at the prison and it would be on that third day they would be awakened from their slumber and forced to walk to the half-hour trek to his hated half-brother’s Shiro. Although they had trekked upon the lands in the past during their search for the shards, Inuyasha had never bothered to catch a glimpse of his own ancestral home. Oh, there had been times of curiosity when they were nearby for Inuyasha to wonder what his father’s home had been like, but the notion of having to clash with Sesshomaru had been less than desirable especially when there were shards to be found and a Spider to destroy.

Since then, Inuyasha’s curiosity had since weaned. He had no longer the desire to look upon his father’s home nor even walk to soil his father had, but now he was being forced to do so. All for the sake of his brother’s fragile ego.

As the large wooden doors opened, the group found themselves in awe of the beautiful Moon-jo. Made of wood and concrete and built upon a massive hill, the Shiro had been built with elegance and comfort in mind for the ruler that would live within, but the group knew otherwise. Its heavy shadow loomed over the village below offering a word of warning to those who dared to cause all trouble: the ruler of the Shiro was watching and justice would be swift and without warning.

This occasion was no different as they made their way to the middle of the courtyard. There, standing before them were three youkais of power dressed in colors of blue, red, and green. The fourth seemed to be missing causing the group to glance at each other in concern and warily turn their attentions once more upon the three youkais.

“Inuyasha, son of the late and great Inu no Taisho, you are hereby charged with interference in the mating of your older brother, the great Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, and his mate, Kagome, the Shikon no Miko,” the youkai in blue proclaimed as his blue eyes swept across the group. “You and your group will stand before the Cardinal Court and face judgment.”

“Guard,” the youkai in red addressed the captain, “take them to the judgment room.”

The captain bowed his head in reverence and pushed the group forward and toward the back of the Shiro.

* * *

**Chapter End**


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had this particular chapter finished for quite some time. Unfortunately, these past few weeks of work have been demanding and I had been unable to do any posting or writing as of late. 
> 
> The next chapter maybe a little later (as well as When My Heart Shatters) as I will be training for the position of Assistant Manager at work. Please have patience.
> 
> And those waiting for the next installment of When My Heart Shatters, please note that Sesshomaru's muse has been a bit of a pain. I have the song for the next chapter but not the writing muse. >> I think she went on vacation without me. That witch!

**A Jealous Betrayal**

**By Utena**

**Chapter Six**

**The Past-**

The guards had pushed them to the back of the Shiro where they found an enclosed space just off the side. There another building loomed and all of them knew this would be the place of their judgement. They glanced warily as the Cardinal Lords appeared and made their way first into the building and they would be forced to follow them.

The moment the building they found the Cardinal Lords seated cross-legged upon bamboo tatami. There was room for four but only three Cardinal Yokai Lords were seated. There was a space just off to the right that had been left without its owner and Inuyasha knew that space should have been occupied by his hated half-brother. The bastard was nowhere in sight and the half-breed could only guess that he would make some grand entrance or another the moment the start of their court.

“Inuyasha, son of Toga, the Inu no Taisho, has been charged with the forceful of the great and terrible Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands’,” the one in red and gold announced causing all those to pause in their movements and give him notice, “beloved mate, the Lady Kagome, Miko of the Shikon no Tama. How do you and your companions’ plea?”

“Feh,” Inuyasha snorted as he leveled his golden gaze upon the Cardinal Lords, “the bastard only wanted her because he was still believed that she was the key to gaining access to the Tessaiga.”

The Cardinal Lord in blue narrowed his eyes at the hanyo standing before him but before he could make a sharp reply, they found themselves interrupted by the arrival of the InuKimi and Rin. The Cardinal Lords rose and bowed deeply to the two women.

“Forgive me for the interruption, gentlemen of the Court,” InuKimi apologized returning the acknowledged bow with a dip of her head. Her golden amber eyes turning to the those in which the Court had come to convene on. “Since my son is unable to appear, I have come to take his place upon this judgment.”

“Of course, my lady,” the Cardinal Lord in green murmured softly.

From their viewpoint, the group warily watched as InuKimi took her place upon the Cardinal Lords. They knew extraordinarily little about her. They really had no idea either that Sesshomaru’s mother had even been alive.

But then, the group did not know Sesshomaru that very well. He may have joined their group later, but the Western Lord had made no attempts to integrate himself from the group. He allowed Rin the luxury of doing so and the young girl spent her time close to Kagome and Shippo more than any of them.

Now she was before them and it worried them. Her judgment would probably weigh as much as Sesshomaru’s would have, if not even more.

As their gaze turned toward the other that had entered with her, they were surprised to see Rin here. They had not seen her since she had escorted her adopted father away from the village. There had been some hope that she would return with news, but as the weeks turned months, they had chalked it to up that she was taking care of the Western Lands in his place.

Sango’s gaze softened at the quiet figure of Rin. The girl had aged more than she should have. She could see the world weighing upon her shoulders and briefly wondered what exactly had become of Sesshomaru. Had the mating bond done something to him? She could only surmise that it may have caused a lot of complications but without Sesshomaru here to say anything, they could only guess the damage Inuyasha had caused.

“Inuyasha,” the soft but firm voice of InuKimi drew Sango away from her thoughts and her attention once more to the beautiful female yokai seated with the Cardinal Lords, “do you or your companions wish to speak in defense of these allegations?”

“We don’t need any of your stink’n help,” Inuyasha growled at the woman crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the woman.

Snarls came from the yokai lords who were displeased by the blatant disrespect that Inuyasha had given the acting Lady of the Western Lands. They did not care if he was the son of the noble Inu no Taisho; no one should disrespect any lady be her human or yokai.

“I believe you owe our great lady an apology, <i>half-breed</i>,” the one in blue warned narrowing blue eyes upon Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha!” Kikyo hissed at her mate. Her dark eyes flashing angrily at him. She was already furious with him for placing them in this situation and there was no telling what his disrespect for his brother’s mother would land them in. “Apologize now!”

“I don’t have –“Inuyasha’s words were cut off when he felt a brief zap of Kikyo’s Miko abilities against his skin. He glared at his mate, angry that she had turned traitor against him. “Fine! I apologize!”

“That was not –“

Kikyo’s words were halted when they heard soft laughter come from the woman. She looked upon them in amusement and replied, “Really, Inuyasha, I believe you should listen to your mate especially when she has the power to put you in your place.”

“Feh,” he growled but refused to say anything further to either of them. He felt hurt at what Kikyo had done. It was not her business to step in and correct him.

“Forgive my interruptions, my lady,” Miroku intervened trying to placate Kikyo and Inuyasha’s anger at each other. He wished more than anything that Kagome was here to straighten things out between them, “I believe we will represent ourselves.”

A finely sculpted silver brow rose upward. “I see,” InuKimi murmured and glanced over at the other lords sitting beside her. “I see no reason for not allowing this.”

The other lords looked at each other and then gave their agreement. After all, they knew the hanyou would hang himself and his companions without any help.

“However,” InuKimi addressed once more the court, “My adopted granddaughter, Rin,” she gestured to the young woman just off to her side, “would like to address the court when given the chance.”

This could not be good, Kikyo thought exchanging glances with Sango and Miroku. Both believed that whatever she would say before the court, could impact their sentence. The moment of her arrival they took note that she offered no acknowledgment toward them. In fact, she downright kept her gaze on the ground. Her hands were laid in front of her and her head bowed.

The yokai council agreed with the allowance. Normally, they never bothered with any humans in their court, but this event was unprecedented. They had their Alpha completely removed and had no idea about the state of his mind.

But all that had been thanks to the hanyo in front of them. They believed that court had been unnecessary as they already believed him and his companions guilty for this travesty against the Alpha Lord. They had been ready to call for his end when InuKimi had stepped forward. The beautiful inuyoukai seemed interested in finding out the reason behind Inuyasha’s brash decision.

“Inuyasha,” InuKimi opened the court, “you have been charged with forceful removal of my son’s mate, the Lady Kagome, Shikon no Miko, and Lady of the Western Lands. Would you like to tell the court the reason behind your decision?”

Inuyasha’s golden eyes swept over the figure of his mate and his two friends. All of them seemed to be looking back and wanting to know the same answer to her question. Because of this, they too were being accused of being accomplices of this crime.

“Sesshomaru,” he growled, “does not deserve Kagome. He made it clear throughout our many skirmishes that he hated all humans and his desire for Tessaiga meant more than anything.”

There seemed to be a moment of silence as InuKimi’s golden eyes glanced over at Rin.

“And what of Rin?” She inquired curiously. Her head tilting to the side. “I would think if such a thought were real, why would my son allow a human to follow him?”

“I would put it past your son to use her as a means to an end,” he returned between clutched teeth. “Sesshomaru has cared for no one but himself.”

“And yet, my son, adopted both Rin and Shippo,” InuKimi challenged. “Isn’t Shippo the young kitsune whom Kagome took in? He has also been the boy’s teacher and even went far to look for a school to help him continue to succeed in his studies. If my boy cared one whit as you claim, don’t you think Sesshomaru would have adopted neither and left Kagome shortly after the end of Naraku? Your reason has flaws, hanyo.”

“My lady, if I may address the court,” Miroku spoke glancing at his wife.

“Proceed,” InuKimi acquiesced with a gesture of her clawed hand.

“We may not come to an understanding of the reasons behind Inuyasha’s brash decision,” Miroku addressed the court. “I know this has caused many problems not only for you as a mother, Rin as a daughter, but it has, for certain, caused problems with the West. There is currently no leader to guide its people toward the future nor a protector. Kagome was one of our closest friends. I will admit that we did not know the extension of the relationship forged between Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama. Their announced mating had taken us by surprise. It was something none of us suspected. I do not believe Inuyasha meant to lay harm to Kagome-sama. I believe that in his mind he was doing the right thing by protecting her.”

“Protecting her?” Rin’s voice rang through the courtroom as her head rose and her dark eyes narrowed angrily at the four before her. “My mother is gone! My father is grieving from her loss and losing every bit of himself each passing day! You,” she marched from her place and pointed a finger at Inuyasha, “forced me to grow up! You forced me into something I was not ready for! All because of your jealousy!” She glared at the hanyo and then it hit her – he knew! He knew her mother’s secret! “You knew,” her voice was eerily quiet as realization set in, “You knew my mother’s secret and it made you furious! You were jealous! Jealous that my mother’s affections went toward someone else!”

 _Secret_? Kikyo and Sango looked at each other and then back at Rin, who had tears racing down her face. They watched sadly as the young woman ran from the court and all eyes once more fell upon Inuyasha. Yet, the hanyo would not grace any of them with word of what the secret was or even had been.

InuKimi frowned. Her granddaughter knew something that none of the others did and yet, she had not imparted it to her prior. Whatever this secret had been, it had been enough to cause the hanyo to angrily push the Miko down into the well and destroy it. The older woman rose from her place within the Court and looked down at the group before her.

“This court will convene until further notice,” the acting Lady of the Western Lands deemed. She glanced at the hanyo and saw the boy’s ears flatten.

“Guards!” Karou snarled as the yokai guards appeared surrounding the group of humans and hanyo. “Take them back to the prison. They will be called for when the decision has been made.”

Kikyo opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. She had wanted a chance to follow the young woman and comfort her. She had never seen Rin so distraught as she had been in that moment. Her heart had broken as tears had fallen down her face as she had addressed Inuyasha. Yet, much like her quiet companions, she wondered what secret it had been that caused her own mate to throw Kagome down the well.

A quick glance at her mate told her that he would be in no mood to answer any of their questions.

**Somewhere in the Shiro** –

With tears blurring her eyes, Rin made her way through the labyrinth of the Shiro. She hated her Uncle ‘Yasha. He had taken away her mother and closed off her father from living. She had never thought he would be this selfish to do something like this. She had always believed that his mating to Kikyo would change him, but it did not. It seemed he had only become bitter at the notion that his older half-brother had taken the Shikon no Miko as a mate.

What Rin did not understand was why Inuyasha did what he did. He knew the hanyo did not love her mother. She had seen those interactions between them prior to her and her adopted father joining their group. She had heard the way he belittled her and treated her. She had always wondered why her mother took the abusive language the way she did. Perhaps her mother had hoped that, in time, Inuyasha would change.

As she drew closer to her father’s rooms, her pace slowed, and she shook her head. She paused before the rice paper door and slowly opened it. There in the middle of the room sat the broken yokai lord and Rin could feel her heartbreaking all over again for him. Ever since their return, her father had locked himself away here, refusing to move…to even look for other means to bring back her mother. She knew he tried to use their mating link to locate her, but that had been a dead-end.

“Papa,” she whispered moving quietly into the room and kneeling beside him. She found back a sob as she caught a glimpse of those lifeless amber eyes. “Please come back, papa.” She wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll find a way, Papa. We’ll find a way to Momma.”

It was at that moment the rice paper doors opened again causing Rin’s eyes to lift to see Jaken in the doorway.

“There is no use,” the little yokai replied sadly, “the mating link has caused Sesshomaru-sama to withdraw from the world.”

“Wha-?” Rin’s head lifted and she looked from the toad yokai back to Sesshomaru. “What do you mean?”

Jaken closed the door and stepped further in. He made sure that his voice was low but not low enough for Rin’s human ears. He may not have always been fond of the young woman before him, but she had grown on him over the years and he saw her as the granddaughter he would never have.

“The mating link between Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama is endangering both of them,” he explained. “If they cannot find a way to each other, there is a possibility we could lose Sesshomaru-sama. Yokai mating links are everything to a yokai. To have something like this happen, well…it could cause his death. He has unfortunately withdrawn into himself and if we cannot reach him, then we will lose him.”

“But how do we stop it?” Rin wanted to know.

“There are two ways but none of them will be what you will want to hear,” Jaken remarked.

“We have to try anything, Jaken-sama,” Rin replied softly glancing once more at her unresponsive father. “I have to do something to help give him hope of being reunited with Momma.”

Jaken gulped and looked at his master. “We could break the mating link and erase his mind. We would have to travel to a dark Miko or priest for help.”

“No!” Rin refused. “I won’t allow that. Papa would not want that. He could forget me and Momma and I cannot allow that.”

“The other way is to be put to sleep,” Jaken offered the other route. “We would have to travel to a dark Miko or priest in order to perform the ritual.”

Rin said nothing as she contemplated their options. She knew that either option offered no real guarantee that her father would come out of this intact. Yet, they had to do something before threats to the Western Land learned the state of Sesshomaru and attacked.

As she weighed both options in her head, she had concluded that her grandmother, the grand Lady InuKimi, would have to be kept in the dark and that they would have to remove Sesshomaru from the Shiro without being seen. It was not going to be a simple task – the servants and Lady InuKimi were always around. If they were to move Sesshomaru, they would have to do it under the cover of darkness.

“Jaken, is there any way we could get Ah-Un ready without drawing attention?” Rin inquired removing herself from Sesshomaru’s side.

Jaken’s eyes widened but he nodded. “I will see to it that it is done quietly, but how do we get Sesshomaru-sama out of here without notice.”

“Leave it to me,” Rin said as her mind filled with a plan.

* * *

**End of Chapter**


End file.
